Hinduism in Modern India That which is held sacred

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Hinduism in Modern India That which is held
sacred
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The Holy River

• Source npr.org

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The City of Varanasi
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Mother Ganga

• Religious pilgrims travel down the Ganges
  River to a temple along the banks of Varanasi.

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To make an offering to the River
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To bath in the holy water
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To be cremated on the banks of the Ganges
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Pollution in the Ganges
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Sacred Texts in Hinduism

• Vedas
• Upanishads
• Bhagavad Gita

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Deities

• There can really be as many Hindu Gods as there
  are devotees to suit the moods, feelings,
  emotions social background of the devotees."
  -Sri RamaKrishna

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ShivaTakes on the destructive aspect of Brahman

• Lord Shiva the Destroyer

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Vishnu preserves the working order of the
universe

• Lord Vishnu the Preserver
• "Only the unlearned deem myself (Vishnu) and
  Shiva to be distinct he ,I, and Brahma are one,
  assuming different names for the creation,
  reservation and destruction of the universe.  We,
  as the triune Self, pervade all creatures the
  wise therefore regard all others as
  themselves." Vishnu explains the Nature of the
  Trinity (trimurti) 

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Brahman andthe Hindu Trinity

• It is often said that the Hindu pantheon has
  three gods at its head Brahma, the creator of
  the universe Vishnu, the preserver of life and
  Shiva, the destroyer of ignorance.
• Brahma is a representation of the impersonal
  brahman in a human form, usually with four faces
  facing the cardinal directions and four arms

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The Sacred Cow

• Hinduism's Sacred Animal
• watch PBS Video, The Sacred Cow, 124

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HinduismThat which is held sacred

• Presentation by
• Jennifer Gigliotti-Labay
• Region IV Social Studies Conference
• November, 2007

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Bibliography

• NPR series Journey Down the Ganges, www.npr.org
  
• Hindu Varanasi, Wilbert M. Gesler Margaret
  Pierce, Geographical Review, Vol. 90, No. 2.
  (Apr., 2000), pp. 222-237.
• BBC
• Library of Congress, country studies
• Photos by Jennifer Gigliotti-Labay, March, 2007
• Deity sculpture photos http//www.lotussculpture.c
  om/bronze_sculpture_the_gods.htm